Retro motorists roadside fix kit

[BenzBoy]

What sort of stuff do you guys carry in your boot? Things I've found invaluable (along with a basic set of spanners etc.):
Zip ties - used for a multitude of temporary fixes! Currently holding my exhaust on.
Gaffer tape - Currently holding most of my front-end together.
Wet wipes - for after you've finished fixing it and you're all gunked up.
Jubilee clips - never know when a hose'll go. And if zip ties are too weak, can be used to hold exhaust on!
Swiss army knife - if the tool kit doesn't have it this thing will!

Anyone else have any invaluable stuff they never leave home without?

[Blue850]

Cable ties. Big reuseable ones
Gaffer tape ,petrol can, Toolbox, Hacksaw, jubilee clips
Jump leads, tow rope, torch ,spare points dizzy cap rotor etc.
And a Metrinch socket/spanner set ie the 13mm spanner will also fit 1/2"
Once used hacksaw, jubilee clips and a coke can to reattach an exhaust to a Wolseley Hornet so it could drive 60 miles to get home
I hate not being able to get a broken down car going and having to summon help

[Deleted]

Spare rags, torch, extendable wheel brace, bulbs and an emergency triangle
I spose fuses could be handy as well.
Must get round to putting a blanket in (to lie on and to keep warm!).

[nickb]

2-foot length of 1in dia. steel tubing or similar.

When the numpty's at kwik-fit do your bolts up too tight with the airgun, you don't want to be left looking like a wally trying to get them off with an eight inch wheelbrace.

Simply slide said tubing over the wheelbrace and apply gentle pressure. sorted.

...give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I shall move the Earth...

[Blue850]

I got one of those 12V impact guns , its brillant for stubborn wheelnuts

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I always carry a 4-pack of Stella for when the car breaks down. Never yet failed to make it home.

[BenzBoy]

Oh I forgot: petrol tank for when I run out (happens a lot), and a 5 litre bottle incase of coolant loss. Usually some oil kicking around too. And overalls.

[Blue850]

And a Bloody Big Hammer when all else fails ;D

[Revolution 9]

Lets see, what I carry in the front of the Imp...

Spanners, sockets etc,
large jerry can of 4 star,
fuel additive in case I have to fill up on LRP or even unleaded (there are only a few places selling 4 star around here),
plugs, HT leads,
jump leads,
a bottle of oil,
a large bottle of water,
a large bottle of antifreeze,
some spare bulbs,
some WD40,
A BLOODY BIG HAMMER FOR EMERGENCIES! ;D ;D ;D ;D

There's on occasions some other stuff too, but I can't remember what other rubbish is in there at the moment, not much else though, you can't get a great deal in an Imp, even a saloon model, some of this stuff is behind the seats where the back seat should be, I think I need an Imp van to keep all that rubbish in!

[Cornfedapache]

I have an umbrella in my boot. No, really!!!
That's it...

Sapporos are great. Everyone should have one

[Shortcut]

I've got

A windscreen wiper arm that doesn't fit the car
Half a piece of wet and dry paper
A phillips screwdriver thats been worn smooth
A broken fuel sender unit.

If the car breaks down...I'm ready!

[ImpJimbo]

Basic tool set. Water/antifreeze, oil, cable ties and my AA card. Easier to fix it at home.

[Revolution 9]

I forgot my gaffa tape and mobile phone! (Although I've had to use the tape on the phone to stop the battery falling out the back, everything I have is as knackered as my Imp! ;D ;D ;D

[ImpJimbo]

Oh thats only in my "modern" nothing needed in the Imp as they never go wrong. ;D

[Revolution 9]

Oh mine neither, that stuff's only for the Volvos! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Ratdat]

I drive Datsuns and Nissans..I don't need no stinkin' breakdown kit ;D

Seriously though, I do tend to carry a bottle for putting water in and if I am going on a long journey I'll take a small bag of tools. So far though the Nissans have been very good to me and I haven't ever been really stranded.

I did have the brass floats sinks in my old Hitachi SU carbs on my 160J SSS once cause they fatigued and cracked. I soldered them roadside with some solder off of a battery lead and managed to get it home okay though;D

I think the only proper failures I've had have been from abusing cars like breaking the diff from doing too many burnouts or blowing the engine in my Prairie up from revving it too hard once too often

I think the only cars that ever broke down regularly and consistently was my Austin A35 (brakes needed rebuilding about every two weeks ...well it was rather an old design!) and my 77k mile Marina 1.3 Super. I think I managed to buy a particularly bad example when I got that one... I have never known such an unreliable car since. I just three months I had to replace the head gasket then the rear axle after all the teeth stripped off the CROWN wheel. The the failing wiper motor finally failed, the clutch went and the ignition switch developed a fault. The a rear halfshaft had to be replaced after the woodruff key sheared and a rear hub fell off, the alternator packed in and I had to repair numerous other small problems which kept me busy every weekend throuout my brief ownership. Not typical of the breed I suspect but after 3 months I despised it so much I scrapped it The boot wasn't big enough to carry all the parts needed to resolve any potential breakdowns with that one.

I did enjoy ownership of various relatively unreliable cars as I just assumed that how things were with cars of that age. That's why my first Datsun was such a revelation and why I still own them. My first one was a rusty, filler and undersealed pile of cack I bought for £250 and despite it's dismal condition it never once failed to start, even on the coldest of mornings and it never ever broke down, no matter how much abuse I gave it. At the time it seemed like a miracle ;D

This was my first Datsun...

[rustingdeathtrap]

An empty fuel can
Cortina void bush tool
an old lunchbox (empty)
Various items of clothing
A selection of broken drumsticks
A copy of The Sun newspaper (christmas 2002)
Spare wheel (flat and bald)
Large tangle of speaker wire
And one gallon of screenwash.

Good job i never leave home without my mobile ;D

[HoTWire]

I used to carry a pretty much complete toolkit with my camper van

[GrumpyOldMan]

General : Basic handtools, cable ties, jerry can, latex gloves (most auto fluids are toxic), antifreeze, engine oil.

Citroen Specific : spare fuses, wire, on-off switch, various lamps, multimeter, big can of WD40, as much LHM fluid as I can get.

[guz]

my daily is a VW T25 panel van.

at one point i carried an engine hoist
around with me for 3 weeks cos i had
nowhere to store it at home.